SanDisk®
Unveils Integrated Data Service for VMware vSphere®
with Next Generation FlashSoft®
Software

Aug 31, 2015

SAN FRANCISCO— VMworld 2015 U.S. — August 31, 2015 – SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK), a global leader in flash storage solutions, today announced FlashSoft® software for VMware vSphere® 6 as a virtual data service through integration with VMware vSphere APIs for IO Filtering (VAIO). This latest version of FlashSoft software represents a significant advance in terms of platform integration, usability and performance, increasing customer peace of mind and confidence in host-level storage acceleration. The new VAIO-integrated FlashSoft software will provide write-back caching support for all VMware datastores including VMware Virtual Machine File System (VMFS), Network File System (NFS), VMware vSphere Virtual Volumes™ and VMware Virtual SAN™.

“We are excited about this significant leap forward for our FlashSoft software for VMware vSphere, which will significantly reduce the storage latency that constrains application performance in virtualized servers,” said Sumit Sadana, executive vice president, chief strategy officer and GM of enterprise solutions, SanDisk. “We have been collaborating closely with VMware for more than a year in order to seamlessly bring the benefits of server-tier flash acceleration to the VMware vSphere platform and ecosystem.”

The VMware vSphere APIs for IO Filtering will enable integration of third-party data services with vSphere, allowing partner technologies to contribute to VMware’s software-defined storage capabilities through Storage Policy Based Management (SPBM). As the design partner for caching solutions built on VMware vSphere APIs for IO Filtering, SanDisk collaborated with VMware in the specification and development of this new capability to bring partner technologies into close alignment with vSphere.

The benefits of this new version of FlashSoft for VMware vSphere will include:

Usability & Management: As a data service integrated through VMware Storage Policy Based Management (SPBM), the cache will be automatically deployed, managed and maintained cluster-wide through VMware vCenter™ storage policies.

Customer Confidence: As a supported solution of both VMware vSphere Storage Policy Based Management and VMware vSphere APIs for IO Filtering, customers and OEM partners will be able to adopt FlashSoft or other third-party virtual data services with the assurance of compatibility and supportability.

“VMware vSphere APIs for IO Filtering will bring third-party data services into the closest possible level of integration with VMware vSphere,” said Charles Fan, senior vice president and general manager, Storage Business Unit, VMware. “As a design partner, SanDisk has helped us develop a framework for not only incorporating its own FlashSoft software, but also enabling storage acceleration data services for our entire partner ecosystem. This helped us further extend our software-defined storage vision through unique software-based data services."

Significant end user benefits of the newest version of FlashSoft software for VMware vSphere will include:

Manageability: Individual virtual disks can be accelerated with ease, so administrators can focus cache resources on the most business-critical data and operations.

Write-Back Caching: Support for write-back as well as write-through caching increases data write performance with high availability.

Compatibility :Integration through the VMware vSphere APIs for IO Filtering framework enables compatibility with other VMware partner data services, such as replication.

Versatility: Performance for virtual disks on all types of datastores can be accelerated, including VMware Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) on SAN, NFS on NAS, VMware vSphere Virtual Volumes on array, DAS and cloud, as well as VMware Virtual SAN.

Stability: User-world cache integration reduces the risk that a problem with one virtual machine could impact others on the same host server.

“Over the years we have observed many different strategies to bring the performance benefits of flash storage to virtual computing infrastructures,” said Jeff Byrne, Senior Analyst at Taneja Group. "We are excited to see VMware enabling the integration of third-party solutions for solid-state acceleration into the VMware vSphere platform, which will provide customers with greater choice for improving storage performance in software-defined storage environments."

FlashSoft software for VMware vSphere 5.1 and 5.5 is a VMware Partner Verified and Supported Product (PVSP), and is available today. The new FlashSoft software for VMware vSphere 6 is certified VMware Ready™ and will be available for purchase from SanDisk and its enterprise channel partners later this year. For more information about the new FlashSoft software visit the SanDisk IT Blog.

SanDisk at VMworld 2015

To learn more and experience the power of the flash-accelerated, software-defined data center, please visit SanDisk in booth #1920 during VMworld, taking place at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, August 30-September 3, 2015. You can join Serge Shats for session STO5704 on “Using Virtual Data Services for IO Acceleration in vSphere,” taking place on Monday, August 31, from 12:30 – 1:30 PM; panel session VAPP5737 with industry experts such as Tarkan Maner and Rawlinson Rivera on Software Defined Storage, from 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM on Tuesday, September 1; or our two Solution Exchange sessions on Wednesday, September 2: FlashSoft 1:50 – 2:10 PM and All Flash Virtual SAN from 3:20 PM – 3:40 PM; and session STO5157 on “Running Business Critical Applications with VMware All Flash Virtual SAN” on Thursday, September 3 from 12:00PM to 1:00PM. SanDisk will also be showcasing its newest FlashSoft software solution during Tech Field Day Extra with Stephen Foskett taking place on Tuesday afternoon from 3:30-4:30pm. SanDisk’s Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer and General Manager of Enterprise Solutions, Sumit Sadana, will be speaking at Nexenta’s OpenSDx Summit at 9:35 AM on Thursday, September 3. You can also see SanDisk solutions at work in our technology partner booths including: VMware, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Nexenta, CloudByte, Tegile, SIOS, Supermicro and Maxta. For more details on SanDisk’s presence and solutions for VMworld, visit: http://www.sandisk.com/about/media-center/events/vmworld-us.html.

About VMworld 2015 U.S.

VMworld 2015 U.S. is the industry's largest virtualization and cloud computing event. With more than 400 unique breakout sessions and labs, and more than 240 sponsors and exhibitors, attendees will have unparalleled access to the knowledge and tools they need to master the new cloud landscape and transform their business. To learn more about VMworld, please visit: www.vmworld.com

About SanDisk

SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company, is a global leader in flash storage solutions. For more than 27 years, SanDisk has expanded the possibilities of storage, providing trusted and innovative products that have transformed the electronics industry. Today, SanDisk’s quality, state-of-the-art solutions are at the heart of many of the world's largest data centers, and embedded in advanced smartphones, tablets and PCs. SanDisk’s consumer products are available at hundreds of thousands of retail stores worldwide. For more information, visit www.sandisk.com.